2016 Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival

Shakespeare Festival Student Competition

It's competition time!! Before there was ArtPrize! there was the Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival Student Competition!

The Student Competition includes monetary awards for student work in the categories of undergraduate critical writing, performing arts, and visual arts, and graduate critical writing. First prize in each category is $100, second is $75, and third is $50.

23rd Festival Opens

The Annual Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival Opens September 30 with performance of Measure for Measure running through October 9 and performances of the Greenshow Knight of the Burning Pestle performing at the Renaissance Faire October 1 and 2.

Activities continue with the Shakespeare Festival Conference opening October 7th featuring the public keynote address by Guest Scholar in Residence Dr. Phyllis Rackin on October 7th at 4 p.m. in Cook DeWitt.
The Conference also features a performance of The Tempest at Loosemore Auditorium at the Pew, Grand Rapids Campus at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students, faculty and staff, and seniors and $7 for general public. It is free for conference attendees. Grand Valley students, faculty, and staff can attend the conference for free with advanced registration. See the conference website linked below for details.

The Greenshow also performs on October 6 at 4:30 p.m. in the green between Kirkhof and Zumberge pond.

Bard to Go has a preview performance on October 12 at 1 p.m. at the Mary Idema Pew Library Multi-purpose Room.

Measure for Measure Promo

Welcome to fall 2016 and to the Annual Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival. We are at season 23 and counting down quickly to our 25th season celebration ahead. But this year is one of transition for us and of change. As our Will Logo depicts, we are under construction. A classic episode of The Brady Bunch had the Brady kids singing a new song that Greg wrote because Peter’s voice was changing. In that song, “Time to Change” the kids sang, “When it's time to change, you've got to rearrange / who you are into what you're gonna be.”[1] Well it’s time to change! Grand Valley is undergoing a renovation to the Performing Arts Center that will bring big changes to our Theatre program and the Shakespeare Festival.

In fall 2017, the renovations will be complete and will include a new Black Box theatre with flexible configuration seating for up to 150. It will give the Theatre program an additional performance venue especially for smaller productions that will bring the audience and performers into close proximity. There will also be new classroom and rehearsal spaces, an expanded lobby, and even new restrooms directly across from both theatres! Change can be very good. But getting to that point means a transition year for this year with some making do in temporary locations and some constricted access in the present lobby. But being “under construction” will not deter us from our festivities this fall. We have a full offering of our regular festival activities. We look forward to seeing many of our returning patrons and are anxious to welcome in newcomers as well. There is no better time to enjoy the Shakespeare Festival events. And thank you, our wonderful audience, for making all of our hard work worth it.